Thursday, December 20, 2012

The Recycling continues, when will the Youths come on board?

President Jonathan approves appointment of Chief Anthony Anenih as chairman of NPA Board and Florence Ita Giwa as member amongs others.

"President Goodluck Jonathan Thursday appointed controversial Edo
politician, Tony Anenih, as Chairman of the Board of the Nigerian Ports
Authority.
The appointment was announced in a statement late Thursday by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Pius Anyim.
The statement also contained the list of appointed board members for
the Corporate Affairs Commission and the Nigerian Maritime
Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA.
But of all the appointments, none is as controversial as Mr. Anenih’s.Anenih for NPA
Mr. Anenih has held several positions in government including ministerial appointments.
However, the former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,
Board of Trustees is best remembered for his role as the Minister of
Works, a position he held under President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Mr. Anenih was indicted by a National Assembly Committee for
mismanaging over N300 billion that accrued to the Works Ministry during
his tenure as minister. His tenure as works minister saw no major road
in the country repaired or constructed. The Lagos- Ibadan Expressway,
and the Benin-Ore Expressway were in deplorable states during Mr.
Anenih’s tenure as minister.
The President’s decision to appoint Mr. Anenih as NPA board chair also shows the lucrative state of the agency.NPA and Bode George
The NPA is considered one of the most lucrative agencies outside of the oil and gas industry.
It has also served as agency of choice for PDP leaders since 1999.
A former Deputy National Chairman of the party, Bode George, once held the position now given to Mr. Anenih.
Mr. George was eventually convicted of contract splitting of billions
of naira while he served on the NPA board. He served a two-year jail
term.
The lucrative post is now Mr. Anenih’s.

PDP BOT position
It is also not clear if Mr. Anenih’s appointment is the president’s
way of diverting his interest from the PDP Board of Trustees
Chairmanship position for which he is angling.
Mr. Anenih was believed to be Mr. Jonathan’s choice for the post
while former President Olusegun Obasanjo supports the candidacy of
Ahmadu Ali, former PDP chairman. The PDP had to postpone its election
for the BOT chairmanship position to 2013 when the party elders could
not agree on a consensus candidate.
With Mr. Anenih’s NPA appointment, it may just be that he has let go of the BOT post.
The NPA Board Chairmanship position may just be a good enough replacement for the Edo politician."